I love teaching.

It’s in my bones. My mom is a teacher and I followed in her footsteps by teaching in high schools, art centers, colleges, and online.

I went to school for a long time and I absorbed so much useful information - I feel obligated to pass it on. I’ve learned so much from watching tutorials that I wanted to add my own little droplets to the vast sea of information online.

So, this is a place I share what I’ve learned and am still learning. I also write about my art process because, when I look at other artists’ blogs, I just want to know how they are making their things.

I've been working on this idea for years in my sketchbook. It started out with the idea of the "Queen of Unrequited Love" floating in a gritty glass cage sitting on a throne that had grown around her.

I had plans to make her into a big oil painting, but never did, 'cause sometimes painting is intimidating. I decided to draw her with some other figures floating around. I overdid it on the first drawing but got a lot of graphite practice in - nothing is ever a waste - the drawing didn't turn out the way I hoped, but I learned stuff and the second drawing went a lot faster but still did not look right.

So, here's the third and final version. I'm never completely satisfied but I will be done with this composition and move on to other things.